Turbine-motors



April 28, 1964 III P. SCHLUMBOHM TURBINE-MOTORS Filed Nov. 4, 1958 INVENTOR.

United States Patent ()fiice 3,130,545 Patented Apr. 28, 1964 3,130,545 TURBINE-MOTORS Peter Schlumbohm, 41 Murray St., New York, N.Y. Filed Nov. 4, 1958, Ser. No. 771,879 1 Claim. (Cl. 6039.35)

The present invention relates to turbines. More specifically, it relates to a gas motor for driving a shaft.

The invention aims at applying some features of the pulsating V1 motor to an exhaust turbine, which drives a shaft.

To increase the efficiency of such a turbine, the invention provides:

(a) for utilizing part of the combustion heat for preheating the air entering the combustion space;

(b) for using L.P.G., such as butane or propane or for using natural gas or hydrogen as fuel;

(c) to operate at high temperatures. The motor can be built from ceramics, such as Vycor or Cercor;

(d) for pumping air into the combustion space, to serve as scavenger air and fresh air prior to the explosion;

(e) to operate without valves;

(7) to limit the number of rotating elements. Only one part of the motor rotates, driving the power shaft.

The surprising simplicity of the apparatus is partly based on the effect of the oo-pumping wall, which I discovered. (See my U.S. Patent 2,655,310 and my U.S. Pat. 2,706,106.)

Furthermore, I replace mechanical valves by creating flow conditions which are a handicap for the flow in the undesired direction.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which FIG. 1 is a longitudinal elevation, partly in vertical section, and

FIG. 2 is a side view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

The motor illustrated in the drawing has a combustion space A of the shape of a cylinder-slice. It is walled by a peripheral wall 4 with deflecting outlets D for the exhaust gases. The two opposite side-walls are two disc shaped elements B and C. They are arranged coaxially and in a sufiicient proximity to each other, that they cooperate :as co-pumping Walls (see the above-mentioned patents for details and variations), if one of them rotates coaxially, creating a vacuum between them. As a novel arrangement of co -pumping walls, the present invention illustrates the possibility of varying the proximity of the two walls. In the example shown, the element C is rotatable on a shaft 13, held in .a bearing 15. This shaft is the starting and the power shaft, with a take 05 grooved-wheel 14. Element B is not rotat- Ling. Its disc-shaped wall '2 is mounted on a hollow shaft 5, which has a threaded section 6, which is held in a threaded block 7. A handwheel 8 allows to thread shaft 5 through block 7 in either direction, thereby varying the prom'mity between elements B and C. For additional guidance and as a seal against exhaust gases, the wall 2 of element B joins at its periphery a cylinder ring 3, which telescopes into the cylinder ring 4, which rotates with the elements C and D.

Varying the proximity varies the vacuum effect of the co-pumping walls. The closer the proximity, the greater the vacuum effect. The greater the vacuum in front of element C, the greater the volume of air which is pumped into the combustion space through the wall 1 of element C.

In the example illustrated, the arrangement and function of the two copumping walls B and C corresponds to the FIG. 1 of U.S. Pat. 2,655,310, where the honeycomb disc rotates in front of the non-rotating copurnping wall. The structure of the disc 1 of the illustrated example is exactly like the structure shown in FIG. 6 of U.S. Pat. 2,655,310. New is the peripheral ring 4, with the deflector elements D, which rotates with element C and partly Walls the combustion space. Also, the diameter of the channels is as small as possible to create specific handicaps for the backfiring of comlbustion gases. In this respect, a new discovery is of great help: The resistance of flow in tubes is greatly increased (e.g. seven times) if there is pulsating flow. That exactly is the case here. Prior to the explosion, air flows through disc 1 into the combustion space, as scavenger air and as fresh air. Then occurs the explosion when the fresh air is mixed with the fuel coming through tube 9, 5 and when the mixture is ignited by sparking means 11, 12. Momentarily the pressure rises and is then reduced by the leaving of the gases through the deflecting exhaust openings D. Backfiring through disc 1 offers too much flow resistance. The centrifugal momentum of the air in the capillary of the rotating disc 1 adds to the handicaps cite-d above. With the sinking of the pressure and the centrifuging of the combustion gases out of the combustion space, immediately the pumping of air into the combustion space begins a new cycle.

A valve 10 controls the feed of fuel, such as propane, and the close-by handwheel 8 can infiuenw the degree of pumping. The electrical sparking means are necessary only the star-ling period. Once the walls of the combustion space are real hot, the explosion takes place the moment the right explosive mixture is formed.

It is easy to understand, that the disc 1 of element C will become an ideal air pre-heater, when it becomes hot. Making it from ceramic such as Cercor, a product of Corning Glass Works, allows very high temperatures. Of course, also the other Walls of the combustion space, elements 3 and 4 can and should be made from such material or thermally equivalent materials.

To increase further the overall efficiency of a gas turbine, it is known to exploit the temperature of the exhaust gases, which in this example leave through elements D.

Having now explained the nature of my invention and having shown by way of example the manner in which it may be performed, I claim as my invention:

Turbine-motor characterized by a combustion space, mounted for rotation around a shaft, having means for introducing fuel, means for ignition, and means for exhausting the combustion gases, said combustion space being shaped like a cylinder slice having a peripheral cylindrical wall and two disc-shaped side-walls of substantially the same diameter and mounted parallel to each other in sufficient proximity to cooperate for a pumping eiiect, when at least one of them is rotating; at least one of the two discs being of capillary \one-Way-flow structure, whereby scavenger air and fresh air can be pumped through this disc into the combustion space while during the explosion phase a back-firing of combustion gases through this capillary disc is substantially checked.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,651,376 'Stanitz Sept. 8, 1953 2,655,310 Schlumbohm Oct. '13, 1953 2,706,016 Schlumbohm Apr. 12, 1955 2,825,203 Bertin et al Mar. 4-, 1958 

